Healing with Plants
Insights from my weekend at the International Plant-Based Nutrition Healthcare Conference in September 2024, Anaheim, California.
I recently attended this conference hosted by the Plantrician Project. My first time attending in 2019 was a life-changing experience. Held in Oakland, California, it was local and cheaper for me (I lodged at home and took BART) . Barely still a newbie, I was duly impressed with the plant-based nutrition celebrities including doctors Dean Ornish, Neal Barnard, Michael Gregor, Scott Stoll, Cyrus Khambatta, Team Sherzai, Caldwell Esselystyn Jr., Garth Davis, Angie Sadeghi, to name a few. IYKYK! Just a few take-aways from that year included: learning about the key importance of Regenerative Organic Agriculture from the Rodale Institute; a dramatization on how diabetes works on a cellular level from Mastering Diabetes founders (he brought up audience members to the stage to dramatize how insulin works); and even hearing an orthopedist address tendon health and plant-based nutrition. Three plant-based catered meals per day were the crown jewel of the conference!
This past spring I decided it was time to go again. Having obtained multiple certifications in plant-based nutrition and health coaching since I last attended, I was excited to hear about updates and new research findings, and explore new products and resources. I also looked forward to professional and social networking with like-minded practitioners.
My Kind of Food
One of the highlights about this conference for everyone is the plant-based meals. We are not talking unhealthy vegan food. The chefs prepare whole food plant-based meals that minimize salt, oil/fat and sugar. It’s amazing to be able to choose from multiple healthy options and have someone else cook all your meals for you! I did hear a few whispers from some people who weren’t quite used to eating as “clean” as this, but I was really grateful for the food and meals served. Between that and no alcohol, I did not come back from this trip with any weight gain!
What’s good for me is good for you and good for the planet too
At this annual conference hosted and produced by The Plantrician Project, leading and world-renown medical experts in the field of plant-based nutrition speak about the life-changing power of whole food plant based nutrition and it’s application and implementation in today and tomorrow’s relevant health issues. The Plantrician Project’s mission is grounded in the belief that “a nation—and a world—in which all physicians, healthcare providers and, health influencers have embraced the dietary paradigm shift to a whole food, plant-based diet; in turn, effectively promoting patient and client adoption of this health-protecting, disease-fighting way of living. The result will be the transformation and regeneration of human health, health care, and the food ecosystem.”
Plant-based Rock Star Line-up
The plant-based star-studded line-up for 2024 included doctors Dean Ornish, Scott Stoll, Joel Fuhrman, Alan Goldhamer, Brooke Goldner, Baxter Montgomery, James Loomis, Angie Sadeghi, Michael Klaper, and Forks Over Knives’ doctors Matthew Lederman and Alona Pulde, and others. More “stars” included Dotsie Bausch, former Olympian and founder of Switch4Good and Chef A.J.. Being able to meet, speak and even eat with these world-famous leaders (who are just regular people like you and me) was a special advantage of being physically present at the conference. I personally was excited to meet people from and learn more about Love.Life. This Holistic Health and Wellness Club created by John Mackey, founder of Whole Foods, has launched its flagship location in El Segundo, one of my new favorite places!
Over a dozen exhibitors displayed tantalizing products and information throughout the conference, including almost every plant-based nutrition and cookbook I’ve ever heard of. My favorite exhibitor by far was Dr. Adriana Antunez de Mayolo of La Purita. Adriana, a molecular biologist who founded this company, literally arrived from Peru with a large selection of her delicious and healthy plant-based treats. I have to admit that I was glad to have her treats to have as snacks during the weekend. I can’t wait to buy them here!
Fitting in Fitness
Getting exercise during travel can be challenging but it’s important to me. Including physical activity in your travel days also helps balance all the restaurant eating you may be doing. It’s especially hard at a multi-day conference with full day programming. I check in with the hotel concierge staff to get copies of local walks and runs. Although I was right next door to Disneyland, I remained outside in the concrete jungle of Anaheim, where I walked the 3.5 miles around the perimeter of “the happiest place on earth ” early each morning.
Whova – a cool conference app
The conference utilized the Whova app to keep everyone connected and engaged. It’s a very comprehensive platform that gives attendees and speakers access to each other, to the live presentations (for remote attendees), the slides and documents from presentation, the ability to ask questions to be presented to the current speaker, and a social networking capability that really deepened our ability to connect with each other in a professional and fun way. We shared photos, articles, recipes, created meet-ups, discussions, and could even post job offers and availability. (I shared a ride from the airport to the hotel with two other ladies at the conference). We had access to it before arriving at the conference, so I was able to see that an old friend was attending and we loved reconnecting with each other. You could see all the attendees and speakers, the agenda, and many other features, and users have access to all the features, including videos of all the presentations for an entire year. Users earn points for their frequency and level of engagement and you shouldn’t be surprised that I came in 4th place on the Leader Board!
Did I mention I’m very social?
It’s really easy to talk to people when we’re all wearing name tags that include our professional credentials, where we work and where we are from. That made it easy to realize some of us just had two degrees of separation (we each knew the same person). I had so much fun meeting new people both in person and online through the Whova app.
One of my favorite new friends I made was Grace G. Martin, an 82 year old dietician from Portland, Oregon. I spoke to her several times throughout the weekend and on the last day I attended in person, she sat down with me and read me a poem that she wrote:
Grace G. Martin
You’re a Diamond in Disguise—2 Carats
Don’t Ever Believe Otherwise!
You’re a Diamond in Disguise.
A precious gem of perfect shape and size.
Share your brilliance. Share your shine.
Share you essence that lies inside.
Silhouettes are wrappings is a fact that’s known to be.
But it’s the content of the package,
The world aspires to see!
Your silhouette will change,
But the diamond within you will not.
Its gleam, its glow will never die,
This is your gift to share with Humankind!
Top Take-aways from the Conference
- Eat more vegetables, as many raw as you can. Thirty different varieties per week.
- Drink a LOT of water each day–at least 64 ounces, but even more is helpful.
- Get as much fiber as you can from whole foods. Over 90% of Americans do not even begin to approach the recommended amount of 28-35 grams fiber per day. Some experts at the conference suggested that even 50 grams of fiber per day may be optimal. You’d better make sure your toilet flushes well!
- Exercise! At least 150 minutes of aerobic activity per week but strive for 300 minutes. Additionally, two 20 minute sessions of strength training per week.
- Did they talk about how much protein we need? A little, but it certainly was not the focus. The take-aways were:
- Doctors don’t see cases of protein deficiency in the United States
- People get enough protein eating a variety of whole food plant-based food sources in sufficient caloric amounts
- Even plant-based foods contain protein, some in very high amounts. Whole plant-based foods are not “packaged” with unhealthy ingredients like saturated fats and sugar, and they are naturally sources of fiber.
I was so inspired and impressed by all the speakers, and I can listen to their presentations on the Whova app all year. I even bought the books of some of the speakers: Dr. Brooke Goldner’s Goodbye Auto-Immune Disease and Dr. Rudrani Banik’s Beyond Carrots: Best Foods for Eye Health A to Z.
Next year’s International Plant-based Nutrition Healthcare Conference will take place in September in Palm Desert, California. I just might plan to attend this conference regularly…
I’d love to send you my Friday Fun Newsletter! Just fill out the form below…I think you’ll love it!